September 8, 2008

City term limits, Atlantic Yards, and the question of David Paterson

Atlantic Yards Report

A reader recently wondered whether Mayor Mike Bloomberg's increasingly public flirtation with an effort to extend term limits would be bad news for the Atlantic Yards opposition.

Well, it probably wouldn't be good news, given that new blood in City Hall and the City Council might offer marginally more scrutiny of the project and might question a request for more subsidies. However, it's far less relevant than getting Governor David Paterson up to speed, City Council Member Letitia James, the project's leading political opponent, told me.

The project has gone through all its public approvals, James noted, so "the question is, what is our governor prepared to do?"

Paterson, who's got his plate full, has not yet focused on Atlantic Yards, even as the Empire State Development Corporation he controls hasn't clarified the timing and scale of the project. The funding for the project remains murky, and the developer has stated that "we still need more" subsidies.

(Paterson will be speaking at a Crain's New York Business breakfast tomorrow; let's see if anyone brings up Atlantic Yards.)